Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch says this upcoming season’s Blue Jackets will be tougher under coach Ken Hitchcock. And now that they have Michael Peca? That’s even tougher. Of course, I seem to recall similar talk when the Blue Jackets landed Todd Marchant, another great two-way player. And we all saw how that worked out. For Anaheim. Where Marchant eventually landed.
Hitchcock is a fine coach, but he’s not a miracle worker. You can’t win with two (and I think I’m being a bit kind here) decent lines.
Over in St. Louis, the Blues are trying to get fans back in the seats. So far, it’s working. Lowered ticket price + Paul Kariya = more ticket sales. That’s a fact.
Also, I’m not a huge Sports Guy fan, but his column in this month’s ESPN THE MAGAZINE, about the rationale behind trades, is pretty funny, with the expected hits on the NHL:

Once upon a time, after about 600 cocktails, the owners of the Red Sox and the Yankees agreed on a Ted Williams for Joe DiMaggio swap before thinking better of it. Nowadays, nobody drunk-deals except for fantasy owners &#151 and possibly Matt Millen. It’s a shame. Every league should schedule its trade deadline around a mandatory Vegas golf outing so GMs could be worn down by daiquiris and the desert sun before quickly being ushered into a large room with an open bar. Wouldn’t this spur more trading? I nominate the NHL to be the biology frog for this idea. In fact, I nominate the NHL to be the biology frog for every idea. We have a professional league toiling in a vacuum (or in this case, Versus). Let’s use it to our advantage.